Secret of the Stars: the Forgotten Tale
by Kuwabara Shizuru
Summary: My old story of SotS returns, with major plot reworking and the loss of script format. Follow the adventures of young Aldayne Booth and Gara von Amaboss as they hunt down a deranged bandit in order to bring peace to the
1. Default Chapter

Secret of the Stars:The Forgotten Tale, Chapter 1:Every Story Must Have a Beginning A Secret of the Stars fanfic by Dustin Dixon

Disclaimer:All of the characters in this story belong to Tecmo, not to me. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to make any sort of profit. If for some reason you would like to put this story up on a site, please email me first at asking for permission. Also, please give credit where credit is due. I'd do the same with your stories. Also, the song Kesenai Tsumi is originally from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, an anime too good to ignore, so if you haven't seen it, you really should. It's awesome. With that out of the way, let's proceed with the first chapter.

It was a quiet evening in the town of Alazina, one of the most bustling cities in the floating landmass known only as the Upperworld.  
A group of teenagers were walking along the main road, leading out of the urban area, into the sleepy suburbs. There were five of them, all male. The leader, or at least, the one in front of the rest, is who our story is about. He had short brown hair, with piercing blue eyes. He was clad mostly in denim, save for the white t-shirt he wore underneath his denim jacket. His mouth was open, and laughter was escaping from it, as he walked with his friends, the five of them joking. His name? Aldayne Booth. He lived in the suburbs of Alazina, along with his gang of friends:Rory, Chris, David, and Lang. Looking at his state now, you could never tell that he had been through hell ten years ago, when he was only five. He and his mother had went for a stroll, when they were ambushed by bandits, and they happened to be close to one of the many "holes" in the Upperworld. His mother was tossed over the edge to her death, but it was not without its boon. This alerted the local soldiers, which spared young Aldayne from the same fate. Back in the present, however, the gang of friends had reached the point where they usually split up. They each started to go their own seperate ways to head home. "See you guys tomorrow.", Aldayne called out to his friends. "Yeah, later Booth,  
Rory answered. The others nodded and waved goodbye. Moments later, Aldayne had reached his front door. He reached under the mat and pulled out a key, which he then used to unlock the door. Inside, his father was waiting.  
"Oh, there you are. I was starting to get a little worried.", said his father, Maladar.  
"Why? It's not even eight, Dad.", Aldayne answered.  
"I know, but you are all I have left, son"  
"Yeah...I dreamed about Mom again last night"  
"I'm always dreaming about her too"  
Maladar looked over at his teenage son with a smirk, and quietly asked, "Son, have I ever told you where you were conceived"  
"No Dad, and I'm certain I don't want to know"  
"It was inside a phone booth"  
"DAD! I did NOT need to know that"  
"Sorry, sorry"  
"Geeze...don't ever tell me something like that again. Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed. G'night, Dad"  
"Night, son. See you tomorrow. I have to go to work in the morning"  
"Right. Be careful.", Aldayne said, before climbing the stairs to his room. After shedding all his clothes, save for his underwear, he crawled into the bed.  
The next morning, he rose out of bed, got dressed, and walked down to the kitchen, half-asleep. As he began to cook some breakfast, several loud bangs were heard outside, jarring him into full consciousness. "Gun fire! In the suburbs!", Aldayne asked,  
his eyes wide. He ran to the window to see what was going on. Out on the street, guns were indeed being fired, at a teenage girl. She was clad in a black one-piece bikini of sorts, with a matching black cape that swayed as she ran, along with her blonde hair. Her emerald-green eyes searched frantically for a place to run, for it seemed that the five men armed with guns had trapped her. She screamed out for help, right before they opened fire on her again. However, the bullets never hit the girl. Instead, they had hit a pink barrier that had formed in front of her. The girl stared in shock at this barrier, wondering how it got there. As if answering her unvoiced question, Aldayne stepped out into the open. "It's funny, isn't it?", he said, cupping his chin in his left hand, with a huge, pompous grin on his face. The gunmen turned to him, preparing to fire. His grin simply grew wider as he continued to speak, "Something like that barrier only takes an extremely tiny portion of my magical energy to create. And I had created it a split-second before the bullets hit. Now tell me, do you really want to try to shoot me"  
A spray of bullets followed Aldayne's comment, leaving him dancing with comically-wide eyes. However, he quickly regained his confident composure.  
"Look, I don't know why you're after the girl here, nor do I", Aldayne began, but the girl cut him off.  
"They're trying to kill me!", she said frightfully. Aldayne just turned his head, his eyes almost completely narrowed in irritation. "No...really? I would have never guessed with all that damn gunfire"  
"Just shut up and look out!", she shouted, as the gunmen opened fire again. This time, however, Aldayne was ready, and created a second barrier, this time to shiled himself. He then snapped his fingers, and all the gunmen dropped their guns in pain, as the guns had been superheated with a small but powerful fire spell. The gunmen watched in horror as their guns turned red, then melted from the intense heat. "Retreat!", shouted the one in front. The others were quick to comply, as the five ran off as fast as their legs would take them.  
"Heh heh heh...", Aldayne laughed, "That'll teach you to mess with Aldayne Booth...", he said, turning toward the girl he just saved.  
"Th...thanks.", the girl said, "You really saved my ass, huh"  
"Master of the obvious, are we?", Aldayne said.  
"Oh hush. I already thanked you, no need to mock me.", the girl said, "However, can you help me"  
"Twice in one day? Did someone tape a sign saying 'Hunt me down and try to kill me?' to your back"  
"No! I would have felt that awful resin...", she said, sticking her tongue out as her eyes closed in disgust.  
"I was joking.", Aldayne said, rather bluntly.  
"I know.", the girl huffed, "Do you actually take me for that big of an idiot? Wait, don't answer that"  
"Look, why don't we step inside my house?", Aldayne suggested, "It may not be entirely healthy to stay out here if those guys had any buddies"  
"You're right"  
Moments later, Aldayne was bringing her a glass of water, in the safety of his living room. "Here you go.", he said.  
"Thanks.", the girl replied, with a small smile on her face.  
"So...", Aldayne began, then stated, "I never got your name yet"  
"It's Gara.", the girl said.  
"So, Gara...why were those guys after you?", Aldayne asked.  
"Well, I'd seen something I wasn't supposed to, apparently. I saw a man with red hair, and for whatever reason, he was flipping out.  
So they grabbed me. Originally, they just tied me up.", Gara explained, "They were gonna sell me into slavery, but I'd escaped. They were desperate to keep anyone from learning about the redheaded man, it seemed. They tried to kill me, and that's when you showed up"  
"A redhead, eh"  
"Yeah.", Gara said, "He was scary-looking. He was tall, and had a lot of facial hair"  
'Could it be...!', Aldayne thought, thinking of the leader of the bandits that had attacked him and his mother. He had been tall, with a lot of facial hair. It had also been red.  
"This redheaded man...did he have a scar going across his right eye"  
"Yeah, I think so. Why? Do you know him?", Gara asked, a puzzled look on her face.  
"He...he murdered my mom ten years ago.", Aldayne said, his gaze shifting downward.  
"I'm sorry for your loss.", Gara said.  
"Yeah.", Aldayne muttered, then audibly remarked, "I never forgot his face, and my dad's dedicated his life to murdering bandits such as that man. If only we knew his name...maybe Dad would be able to track him down"  
Gara sat silently for a moment, then stood up suddenly, exclaiming the suggestion she'd been pondering in her short state of silence. "You know, we could try to track him down.", she mused, "I mean, sure, he's probably jumped ship by now and gotten the hell outta Dodge, but you and I could try our hand at it. What do you say"  
"Well...I can't protect you twenty-four/seven, you know.", Aldayne said, staring at her.  
"You won't have to. I know you couldn't tell from our initial encounter outside, but I'm a pretty good fighter with a sword or bow"  
"Really"  
"Yeah. My mother and father taught me everything I know. They're excellent fighters"  
"Alright then. I just need to wait for my dad to get home so I can let him know. By the way, we haven't been properly introduced.  
My name is Aldayne Booth"  
"Gara von Amaboss"  
"Wait a second...von Amaboss! As in, the royal family von Amaboss"  
Gara smirked. "I see you heard of us. My mother and father are Queen Mara and King Vincent"  
"So you're one of the two princesses"  
"That's right. But, don't give me any special treatment. I'm just a common person this far away, so just call me by my first name, okay"  
"It'll feel weird referring to you as just Gara, now that I know who you actually are"  
"Please. You were nice enough to save me without thought of reward. You're the only person in my age group who's treated me normally"  
"...Alright, sure, why not"  
(End music, "Kesenai Tsumi", starts to play)  
"Thanks. Let's be friends.", and with that, Gara extended her hand for a shake. After a few seconds, Aldayne heartily shook her hand.  
"Yeah, the best...Gara."

End of Chapter One

"Itsumo no shisen ni kimi ga ite kokyuu ga dekiru Boku ni totte nara Sore dake de Mou Juubun na hazu na no ni"

Panning shot of Aldayne walking down a dirt road, in the rain. His face is lowered as he walks.

"Chippoke na boku wa kurikaesu ayamachi bakari Dorehodo tsuyosa wo te ni shitara Nani mo kizutsukezu sumu no?"

Aldayne trips and falls face-first into a mud puddle. As he lifts his head, he sees a hand extended to help him up. The "camera" pans up to reveal Gara, with a smile on her face.

"Mayowazu ni Kono ai wo shinji ikiteyuku Fusagaranu kizuguchi mo gyu'tto dakishimete"

The rain stops, the sky clears up, and the two take off down the muddy road.

"Futari wa aruki-tsuzukeru Ato ni wa modorenai kara Ima demo kono mune no oku Kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo"

Random shots of locations the two friends have visited pop up all over.

"DARLING"

Booth turns to the "camera", winks, and flashes a thumbs up. 


	2. Departure

Secret of the Stars:The Forgotten Tale, Chapter Two:Departure

A Secret of the Stars fanfic by Dustin Dixon

* * *

Disclaimer:Again, I own nothing in this story, except for the redheaded bandit, Aldayne Booth's father and friends, and Gara's parents and sister, so far. Everything

else belongs to Tecmo. With that said, let's get on with Chapter Two.

* * *

Aldayne sat at the kitchen table writing his note, as Gara finished drinking the water he had brought her earlier. She walked over to

the kitchen sink and set the now-empty glass down inside of it. After a few minutes, Aldayne finally stopped writing, and began to

read the note over for errors. Finally, he grabbed a piece of tape, and posted his message on the fridge. Aldayne turned to Gara,

smiled, and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting.", to which Gara replied, "Don't apologize. It's nice that you care about your father

enough to let him know where you're going.", as she walked toward the front door. He followed behind her quickly.

The two friends made their way to the house next door, the one belonging to Rory, the oldest of Aldayne's four friends, and

knocked on the door. After a few minutes, Rory himself came to the door and answered. He looked at the two for a few seconds,

rubbing his eyes and letting out a big yawn. "Booth? What are you doing here at this time of day?" Rory asked, then continued,

"And why do you have a girl with you?"

"Just letting you know...I'm going with Gara here to find a bandit. I probably won't be back for a while." Aldayne said, "So can you

let the guys know about this? I really have to make tracks as it is."

"Why a simple bandit?" Rory's eyebrows raised as he questioned Aldayne.

"I mean, isn't your father an upperworld-famous bandit hunter? Why are you so worried about catching a bandit?"

"I think this bandit's the guy who killed my mom."

"Oh...but think about it, man. Your dad's an accomplished bounty hunter, and he couldn't find the guy for ten years! What makes you think you can?"

"I've seen his hideout. He can't have gotten far." Gara spoke up.

"Exactly what Gara said. Bottom line. He's out there, I'll find him and send word to Dad."

"You do realize this guy's probably insanely strong. He's had ten years to hone whatever skill he had." Rory tried reasoning with Aldayne, but he knew it was to no avail. As long as he'd known the fifteen year old, he'd known of his stubborn attitude. He knew there was nothing he could do to talk Aldayne out of going, so he sighed and spoke up again.

"Well, I can't stop you. That much is obvious."

"You know me all too well." Aldayne smirked.

"Just...be careful out there, okay?"

"You bet, buddy. Tell the others I went on a camping trip, 'kay?" Aldayne flashed a thumbs up, and Rory returned it.

* * *

Meanwhile, atop a hill looming over Alazina, A mysterious, shadowy winged figure looked down upon the city.

"Huh. Boring little dump. I wish he'd hurry up and get here." the figure said. As if waiting for that remark, an extremely tall man, clad in steel armor from neck to toe, and sporting "poofy" red hair, came charging up to the shadow-clad individual.

"Sorry I'm late." he said.

"We're never gonna get anywhere if we can't get any information out of this Podunk village." said the figure, who stepped out of the shadows. He was clad in steel armor as well, which had a purple hue to it., his hair was purple and spiky, and his eyes were amber in color. He was a lot shorter than Dram, but just a hair taller than Aldayne.

"Sorry about that. The locals don't like to gossip much here." Dram bowed slightly.

"Rise. I'm your equal now, remember?" the winged man chuckled.

"Right, right. Did you find anything of interest while spying from here, Godem?" Dram looked down at Godem.

"No. You were right. This place IS a toilet." Godem sighed.

"He used to come here a lot." Dram commented, looking down at the town.

"Well, too bad he doesn't still come here. We could be done with this stupid mission." Godem growled.

"Indeed."

* * *

The trip to the town gates took longer than either Aldayne or Gara had originally anticipated. As a matter of fact, both of them were nowhere near the gates. They were currently trying to strike a deal at the general store.

"Look girl, how many times do I have to tell you, we only take gold! NO TRADES!" the impatient merchant shouted.

"Not even for a solid gold watch?" Gara asked, making sure to emphasize "Gold", as she took said watch and swung it left to right. The merchant's eyes swayed back and forth, as if Gara were hypnotizing him with the watch. "Uh...I said we d...don't tak-AW HELL, WHO AM I KIDDIN'?" the merchant shouted gleefully, grabbing Gara's watch and allowing her one thousand gold in store credit.

"Thank you kindly, sir." Gara said, her eyes narrowing in satisfaction as she and Aldayne began scouring the store for items that would be useful. After ten minutes had passed, they came up to the merchant, both holding several important healing items, such as Plum-plums, Antidotes, and things that might help against whatever they would come across in their journey. The merchant thanked them heartily, and the two took off toward the town gates.

* * *

As the two walked outside the gates, they failed to notice the two strangers watching them from above. They were simply intent on pressing forward. As they walked along, the two strangers tailed them at a distance.

"Why are we following these two now, Godem?" Dram asked, scratching his head as he gazed upon Aldayne and Gara.

"I know I've seen that girl somewhere before...it's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember it." Godem mused. The two continued to follow at a steady pace, not intent on revealing themselves at the current time.

"Hey, Wait a second, Godem...isn't that the missing princess of the Von Amaboss royal family?" Dram spoke up.

"...!" Godem's eyes widened in realization, as he smirked. "So...the princess of Amaboss, eh? Dram, we're going to keep following these two."

"Any particular reason?" Dram looked confused.

"HE was reported to be in this town by our contacts, right?"

"Yeah."

"And then Princess Gara shows up out of nowhere. It can't be a coincidence." Godem's smirk was ever-present. "I figure he's after her. If we tail her, he'll be showing his face to us eventually."

"And then we do him in!"

Godem's smirk turned into a grin as he said "Now you're catching on."

"What about that kid with her?"

"He's NOTHING. If for some reason we ever need to kill Gara von Amaboss, he'll be a pushover." Godem looked down upon Aldayne coldly.

* * *

"ACHOOOOOO!" Aldayne suddenly let out a mighty sneeze.

"Are you okay, Aldayne?" Gara asked.

"Yeah. I guess someone's talking about me." Aldayne shrugged, as the two continued on their way. Soon, morning turned into afternoon, and likewise, afternoon became evening. Aldayne and Gara sat in a wide open space, as they set up camp.

"Well, it sure is a lovely night to camp." Aldayne commented, just as clouds began to roll across the sky.

"You had to say something, didn't you?" Gara's eyes narrowed in frustration, as the two took shelter inside the tent.

* * *

As Dram and Godem sat inside of their own tent, a shadowy figure walked in front of the tent. Dram opened the flap and stepped outside for a few seconds, before diving back in to avoid the rain.

"Telegram from our contacts." Dram said, handing Godem the letter. Godem opened the envelope, and after a few seconds of reading the encased letter, his eyes widened in anger.

"Dammit!" Godem said angrily.

"What's wrong?" Dram asked.

"According to our contacts, he fled the ENTIRELY opposite direction of where we're heading!" Godem snarled.

"So... what do we do?" Godem just looked down, not replying at first, until a smirk found its way across his face once again.

"We're going to secure our ticket to catching him, of course." Godem gazed down  
at the campsite, eying Gara like a hawk.

"Princess Gara von Amaboss." Godem then began to laugh.

* * *

End of Chapter Two.


	3. The Iron Bandit, Dram!

Secret of the Stars: The Forgotten Tale Chapter 3: The Iron Bandit, Dram!

A Secret of the Stars fic by Dustin M. Dixon

* * *

It's been almost as long since I've updated this fic as it has for Shi's Having a Baby, so once again, let's see if I've still got it!

* * *

As thunder resounded in the sky, Aldayne peeked out of the tent, noticing the branch holding the bucket Gara had set up earlier falling to the ground. Pointing at the bucket, he quipped "Well I guess you could say it's raining buckets." only to get forcefully kicked out into the rain by Gara.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" he shouted angrily.

"That joke was horrible. You should be ashamed." Gara grumbled. "Besides...this tent's nowhere near big enough for us to sleep in together."

"Yes, it is." Aldayne remarked dryly, sarcastically stretching out his arms to encompass the tent, which he could barely do.

"You've never slept with a woman from Amaboss, have you?" Gara mused.

"No. I haven't slept with a woman period. Do you have a point to that quip? Because as amusing as the subtext to our little argument is, I don't like the look of those clouds." Aldayne stared up at the sky. "...Can I PLEASE sleep in the tent with you?"

"...Fine." Gara sighed. "But I make no promises that you'll be rested. We Amaboss women are trained to sleep lightly...and, well, I do swing my sword around sometimes while I sleep."

"It's all good...I tend to fire up an occasional spell in my sleep. So, you know..." Aldayne trailed off, as he climbed into the tent and laid down next to Gara.

"Yeah, you go off sometimes in your sleep. Don't worry, I hear it happens to lots of gu-" she cut herself off, her expression turning from joking to weirded out. "Oh WOW, this conversation went from zero to awkward in ten seconds flat."

:"You're the one who said it, not me." Aldayne smirked, resting his head on his arms as he stared up at the roof of the tent.

"Oh hush, you." Gara playfully punched him in the arm. However, not knowing her own strength, she actually managed to bruise Aldayne.

"OW!" he shouted, rubbing his arm. "Damn, Gara, you're stronger than you look!"

"I'm from Amaboss." Gara repeated. "Are you okay? Sorry about that."

"I'm fine...just a little bruising." Aldayne sighed, returning to his previous position. "You know, I bet your parents are out looking for you already."

"Probably." Gara also sighed. "What are your parents like, Aldayne? Or rather...what was your mother like?"

"Well...from what I remember, she was kind, gentle...she and Dad were happy together...I've missed her every day since that...THING murdered her."

"But you have friends. It's not like you've been TRULY miserable." Gara shrugged.

"'The HELL would you know?" Aldayne glared at her. "Both of your parents are alive and well!"

"...I didn't mean it that way. You know I didn't."

"...Yeah, I know." Aldayne raised up, staring out into the forest, taking note of the rain that had started falling.

"Do you honestly think killing him will make that pain go away?" Gara asked, after a few moments of silence between the two of them.

"...I don't know. Sorta doubt it."

"Then why do you want to do this?"

"...I don't want any other families to be torn apart...or for this guy's crimes to go unpunished. He deserves to pay..." Aldayne looked disgusted as thoughts of the man who had haunted his dreams continued to push themselves to the forefront of his mind.

"Then let's stop him! Or at the very least, we can point the proper authorities in the right direction. Hey, why don't you try to get some sleep?" Gara suddenly changed the subject. "I can tell you're thinking stuff you probably don't want other people knowing about." she sighed. "Besides, I'm not all that tired...I'm gonna go for a walk."

"..." Aldayne remained silent, looking up once again at the tent's roof as Gara got up and walked off. "You gonna be okay with that rain?"

"I'm from Amaboss." Gara stated again. "I'll be fine."

"Right. See ya in the AM, then." Aldayne rolled over, shutting his eyes and letting sleep overtake him. Gara looked down on her new partner, giving a little half-grin as she turned around and started to walk deeper into the forest.

"Wonder what Sara's up to right about now?" she thought aloud. Before she could continue her thought, though, she was interrupted by a pair of strong arms, one wrapping around her midriff and the other clamping its accompanying giant hand over her mouth. As she kicked and thrashed violently, the unseen figure dragged her off into the shadows...

* * *

Several minutes later, Aldayne jolted up in his sleeping bag. The same dream he'd been having for ten years now had once again disturbed his formerly peaceful slumber. He sat there breathing hard for a few minutes, then gritting his teeth, the image of the red-headed bandit who murdered his mother etched forever into his mind. It was almost as if he could hear the man's gruff voice once again...no, he could definitely hear it, this time for real.

"Come out, boy."

"...!" Aldayne's eyes widened, and his expression twisted into a frightening snarl as he practically leapt out of his sleeping bag, looking over at the sword Which Gara had propped up against the "wall" of the tent and grabbing it, unsheathing it instantly and scrambling outside. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the man standing there. Though he had to have grown even more muscular, Aldayne had no doubt. This was the man who haunted his dreams.

"YOU! I FOUND YOU AT LAST!" Aldayne roared, pointing the sword toward him, which caused his arm to shake under the weight. 'Jesus...Gara carries this thing like it's weightless! How the hell does she do it?' Despite his shaky grip, however, he glared the man down intensely, until being stunned by the next words to come from his target's lips.

"...Have we met?"

"Have we...?" Aldayne couldn't believe what he'd just heard, feeling all the more enraged. Had this man actually forgotten what he had done? "YOU KILLED MY MOTHER, YOU BASTARD!"

"Your mother...?" the giant man's eyebrows raised. "...Who are you?"

"My name is Aldayne Booth!" Aldayne shouted angrily.

"...Booth? The son of Amara Booth?" the man looked shocked.

"You remember..." Aldayne's snarl widened.

"I wondered what had happened to her son...but I'm not the person who killed your mother."

"LIAR!" Aldayne yelled. "I WAS THERE TEN YEARS AGO!"

"You saw the person I'm chasing kill your mother." he said. "Salonius Salazar. I am his son, Dram." Dram announced.

"His son...?" Aldayne looked stunned.

"Yes. He has betrayed the Underground. He has a price on his head so high that even the Von Amaboss royal family could never pay for it." Dram said. "And speaking of the Von Amaboss royal family..." he whipped his right hand around, pointing to a tree which Aldayne hadn't noticed until Dram's gesture. Adorning that tree was Gara, bound to it with a long length of thick, coarse rope, a cloth fitted between her lips to keep her silent.

"She'll lure him out. She's seen him." Dram smirked.

"Yes...she has." said another voice, as a man with spiky purple hair stepped out from the shadows, though the first thing Aldayne noticed about him were the two large, leathery wings that adorned his back. "She can lead us to him...you, however, would only get in our way, based on your emotional outburst a minute ago when you thought Dram was his father."

"And just who the hell are you?" Aldayne shakily pointed Gara's sword at the newcomer.

"Please." the winged man laughed. "You can barely hold that thing up, boy. You're no match for me." he concluded by unsheathing his own sword, which was equal to the size of Gara's sword, though different in shape, as its front side was serrated.

"Don't think I won't take you both on and win!" Aldayne shouted. "I'm tougher than I look."

"Let me take care of this punk, Godem. Just sit back and watch." Dram smirked, drawing his own weapon, a battle axe that was about as tall as Aldayne himself was. "This'll be fun."

"Oh please...you're far too big and lumbering to be a match for me." Aldayne grinned. "I'll kick your ass and then your dad's next!"

"Actually, I'D be next, and if by some miracle you beat Dram, you won't have a chance in HELL against me!" Godem laughed.

"We'll see about that!" Aldayne shouted, charging Dram, who mightily swung his axe downward. Aldayne, barely dodging, used this opportunity to jump up on the axe; as he ran up it, he shouted "It's OVER!" But as he swung at Dram, he was caught off-guard...and that's when it happened. Aldayne had been so caught up in dodging the initial swing that he missed Dram's next move: unsheathing a smaller, hand-held axe at his side and ramming the handle into Aldayne's stomach, sending him flying. As he landed, he remained motionless. Gara yelled out for her companion through her gag, but it appeared as if Aldayne Booth's quest for vengeance had come to an early and abrupt end...

* * *

End of Chapter Three


	4. Gara Vs Dram

Secret of the Stars: The Forgotten Tale, Chapter 4: Gara Vs. Dram

A Secret of the Stars "what if?" fanfic by Dustin M. Dixon

No one in this story is owned by me, except for Aldayne Booth's friends, his father, and Gara's parents. I am not writing this for profit, I am merely expressing my desire to create a fanfic centered around an RPG with almost no story in the localization, or rather, a "what if" prequel to Secret of the Stars. That being said, I hope you enjoy. On with the story!

* * *

To Gara von Amaboss, all was silent, as her new friend appeared to be dead upon impact with the ground. She held her breath, wanting to scream. She very well would have done this if not for the cloth tied between her lips. However, she was snapped out of her horror as the tall bandit, Dram, spoke up again.

"Get up, boy. I know I didn't kill you in a single hit, no matter how much of a spindly mage you are." Dram frowned.

"Ohh…" Aldayne moaned in pain, as a wave of relief seemed to wash over the Amazonian princess.

"Don't feel too relieved just yet." Godem, the winged bandit, commented as he looked over at Gara, reading her expression. "Dram WILL kill your friend."

"That scenario went over so much better in my head." Aldayne chuckled weakly.

"You tried to use a weapon you have no prior experience with, and you're surprised that this is the result?" Dram looked genuinely taken aback.

"I guess us new heroes have it rough, don't we?" Aldayne laughed, louder this time.

"You want to murder another human being. You're no hero, boy." Dram's steely gaze followed Aldayne as he climbed to his feet.

"Shut up! I'm a hero compared to you two scumbags! Who kidnaps a girl so they can draw out one lone bandit?! You two are nothing but cowards!" Aldayne shouted, pointing accusingly at Dram. "Lousy, no good, stinkin' bandits! ALL OF YOU!" he raged.

"Bandits…?" Dram paused for a second, then shocking Aldayne by letting out a snort, which quickly turned into uproarious laughter. "G… Godem, d-did you hear that…?"

"HAH!" Godem laughed as a response. "You think we're bandits? Oh… you WISH."

"Well then, if you aren't bandits… what are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dram asked, after he stopped laughing long enough to form a coherent sentence. "No, I guess it isn't. We're assassins."

"…!" Aldayne's eyes widened.

"The fact that you've seen us means that we can't let you live." Godem explained. "Technically, the princess will have to 'die' as well, but in her case, we'll make an exception and erase her memories of the past couple of days magically."

"That's horrible…" Aldayne gasped, and then he realized something as his eyes narrowed almost comically. "Wait, couldn't you just do the same to me? And aside from that, wasn't Dram here the one who purposely alerted me to your presence?"

"He's right, Godem…" Dram pointed out. "I did call him."

"Don't encourage him, Dram." Godem said flatly. "And I told you why I couldn't just do that to you, but since you insist on being the pain in my ass that you are, I'll explain again. You're a very emotional person. The amnesia spell only works to erase the memories you had for a certain amount of time before the casting. You must be awake to perform the ceremony. Gara here wouldn't know anything about us, but YOU, and YOUR outright hatred of our target… Dram looks much like Salonius, his father. You'd hound us to the end of the earth if you saw Dram after getting your memory wiped. No, it's best just to kill you here and now. Dram, if you would, please." As Godem spoke, however, he was unaware to Gara's secret. As the two assassins chatted away with their self-imposed target, she had begun to slice through her ropes with a concealed knife from within her glove, grinning slyly from behind the gag as she thought 'That's right, keep your eyes turned that way. Hang on Aldayne! I'm almost free!'

"With pleasure, Godem." Dram smirked. "Your life is over, kid." He stated, dropping his hand axe for the use of his giant axe once more, as he lifted the heavy thing above his head.

"I'm NOT a kid!" Aldayne shouted, snapping his right fingers, and then bore a look of legitimate fear as he noticed that Dram didn't drop his axe. "What the hell…?! Normally when I do that attack, people drop their weapons!"

"Ordinarily, yes, I would have been screaming like a little girl, except you didn't account for these." Dram smirked, letting his axe drop and raising his right hand, using his left hand to remove his gauntlet. What Aldayne saw horrified him.

"Runic symbols… carved into your flesh…!"

"Yes. Your child's play magic is of no use on me. Are you done dragging out the inevitable?"

"Nothing's been decided yet, dammit!" Aldayne snarled.

"Oh, just GIVE UP already!" Godem sighed. "You're just dragging out this pathetic little debacle! You don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell against someone who can ABSORB your little magic spells!"

"That's what you think! I'LL SHOW BOTH OF YOU!" Aldayne roared in rage, snapping his fingers in rage and sending a large torrent of flame at the greatly-surprised Dram. As it engulfed him, Godem remained still, his arms folded as he stared forward.

"Aren'tcha worried about your buddy?" Aldayne smirked. "I just nailed his ass with a wave of fire. You might wanna go help put him out!"

"No need." Godem smirked, using his head and eyes to point over in Dram's direction, and as Aldayne turned, he gaped in horror. Standing there without a burn or scratch upon his body was Dram.

"And that was supposed to accomplish what, again?"

"**DAMMIT! DON'T YOU MOCK ME! I'LL BLOW YOU THE F&#K UP!**" Aldayne shouted at the top of his lungs, letting out another massive wave of fire, and another, screaming again. "IF I CAN'T BURN YOU IN ONE GO, THEN I'LL KEEP GOING UNTIL YOU'RE A PILE OF ASHES!" Another snap, and another wave of fire later, and he screamed once more. "I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"

'He's stronger than I thought.' Godem thought to himself, his eyes widening ever-so-slightly. 'Dram might be in trouble.' His thoughts from that point were drowned out by Aldayne yelling in absolute rage. He felt the last of his magic power leave him for the day, as he emptied one more wave of fire in Dram's direction, letting out a pained, enraged roar as he did so. Panting heavily, he looked into the fire that had been started by his magic. "Yeah… how do you like THEM Plum-plu—" he started, but stared in complete horror as a tree smashed down on the flames, again and again, knocking him to his knees as it put out the fire.

"Quite a dangerous trick…" Dram interrupted him, holding the tree without a look of pain on his face, his body completely uninjured from Aldayne's rage-filled assault. "But completely useless."

"No way…" Aldayne gasped. "That might have blocked one spell… MAYBE two, but eventually I would've overloaded your rune!" he argued.

"That would be true under normal circumstances, but as an assassin… I'm hired to kill all kinds. This includes mages, and I can never be too careful with mages… so I carved several more onto my body." Dram explained, hefting the tree into a swinging position. "Goodbye, Aldayne Booth. I'll tell my father you were looking for him when I see him… and then I killed you. But since he's going to die anyway, your life wasn't a total waste, now was it?" he smirked, swinging the tree hard, ready to paste the young, exhausted magician against the base of the tree, turning him into little more than a red splotch. As he swung, Aldayne closed his eyes.

'Is… is this the end…? Mom…' he thought, before hearing the sound of metal chopping effortlessly through wood. As he opened his eyes, Gara stood above him, now completely free and offering her hand for him to grab. The half of the tree heading for Aldayne had been cleanly cut away, nearly pinning Godem against the tree to which Gara had previously been tied.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"…My magic's used up for the day. I'm afraid I can't help you out." He sighed.

"That's fine. Stand back, Aldayne." Gara instructed, and after a second, Aldayne did just that.

"Princess von Amaboss…" Dram looked stunned. He still hadn't recovered from the shock of watching her effortlessly demolish his new weapon.

"How did YOU get free?!" Godem looked annoyed once he climbed over the tree. Turning to him with a smirk, she ignored his question and asked one of her own.

"Hey, you're a Dragonian, right?"

"Yes, that's correct." Godem played along.

"You know MY people used to hunt YOUR people, right?"

"I'm aware."

"Then this should be REAL easy for you. Start running." She grinned almost psychotically, pointing her sword toward Godem. She was interrupted by Aldayne's yell.

"Gara! LOOK OUT!" …But she was way ahead of him, simply leaning back with a smirk on her face as she turned to look at Dram, narrowly missing the hand axe he had thrown at her.

"You've got balls, trying to axe me while my face is turned… we could use a big, strong guy like you in Amaboss." She offered.

"I'm an assassin, and a friend of the Dragonian whose life you just threatened." Dram snarled. "I have no place in your town, nor do I WANT one!" he shouted, throwing another of his hand axes at Gara, who simply parried it with her hand, as Aldayne looked on in horror. However, she was revealed to have no scratches on her, as the chipped hand axe fell to the ground noisily.

"How…?!" Dram looked flabbergasted.

"Have you heard of Eledium? My gloves are made of it. Durable, yet surprisingly elastic metal." Gara smirked. "Too bad for you. You could've seriously incapacitated me there. Now you're about to be seriously injured."

"Highly unlikely. You got lucky with the tree." Dram said, crossing his arms confidently. "You're just bluff—"

"Eight-Point Strike!" Gara shouted suddenly, vanishing before the eyes of all who were watching her. Without any sort of warning, Dram felt eight sudden stabs all over his body as he let out a yell of pain and collapsed immediately. The assassin Dram had been soundly defeated, as Gara reappeared, holding her bloodied sword.

"Dram?!" Godem looked concerned. After a few seconds, Dram let out a loud moan of pain.

"That was one of my secret moves. Feel privileged that I let you live through its execution." Gara smirked at Dram, who lifted his head barely, before letting it drop once more with another groan.

"Damn…" Godem snarled.

"You might want to help your friend." Gara pointed out to the smaller assassin. "And leave me and MY friend alone."

"Holy crap…" Aldayne gasped. 'She took out that guy in ONE HIT!'

"Well?! Get out of here!"

"Tch…" Godem snarled in rage, walking over to Dram and slinging his unconscious friend over his shoulder.

"Go treat your friend. If I'd aimed for his head, he wouldn't be alive right now." Gara scoffed, turning around to face away from the two assassins. As she did so, Godem spoke up again, his rage ever-present in his speech. "You haven't seen the last of us! DO YOU HEAR ME?! WE'LL HUNT YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE UPPERWORLD AND BEYOND, IF NECESSARY!"

"And? Do what you have to." Gara closed her eyes. "But do it after you heal your friend."

"…" Godem remained silent, flapping his wings mightily as he lifted into the sky, then flew off, away from the campsite.

"Why did you let them go?" Aldayne asked.

"He and his friend are no threat." Gara replied, opening her eyes once more and gazing into the sky. "You need to get some sleep."

"So do you." Aldayne commented. "Maybe you didn't expend a lot of energy to take Dram out, but I'm gonna assume you didn't get any sleep when they kidnapped you."

"You assume correctly."

"So how DID they manage to sneak up on you?" Aldayne questioned, leading Gara to shrug.

"I was lost in thought regarding someone close to me." She answered, shrugging again. "Now go get some sleep. I may be physically stronger than the seven foot man I just took down, but even I have my limits. I need you to help me out."

"Y'aint gotta ask again!" Aldayne replied, jogging back toward the tent, being slowly followed by Gara as they silently celebrated their temporary victory over the two assassins and dreaming of what the next day would hold for them…

* * *

End of Chapter Four


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